Physically preventing the elderly and young from access to emergency food is not something I thought I'd ever be doing. Yet, there I was - as part of a human wall keeping the aid workers safe from a desperate crowd. Elderly hands kept poking through the wall as people begged me for food in broken English. One grandmother fell to her knees and pleaded and pleaded for an aid pack. Shafaq - a fellow volunteer - broke protocol and gave her one. I remember one young girl trying to piece together a torn aid docket in an attempt to get herself some food.
Desperate people do desperate things.
This was all in response to Typhoon Ondoy which slammed into Manila leaving hundreds dead. The even bigger Typhoon Pepeng was mercifully deflected at the last minute.
The aid effort was coordinated by the Bayan Muna (People First) political party. Bayan Muna is headed by Satur Ocampo. Mr. Ocampo is one of the premiere human rights activists in the Philippines. He has been arrested, tortured and harassed by various oppressive regimes. He even has some daring prison escape stories. Mr. Ocampo was one of the people I was keeping safe at the aid distribution.
Looking back at that day, I can't help but feel a little guilty as I was little more than a 'disaster tourist'. I didn't really help in any meaningful way. Meeting Mr. Ocampo was a personal highlight. I'll die a happy man if Meaningful Volunteer achieves half as much as he ha
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